What's for Lunch - Wed., 2/1

WHOLE WHEAT PITA PIZZA
With Meatballs or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

Good news  -- we now have a whole grain pita pizza!  But go with the plain  -- the meatballs are are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  Tyson recently had another ground beef recall due to e. coli contamination although this one did not affect the school lunch market.

The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. 

By the way, the government says the tomato sauce makes this pizza a vegetable.

The smoothie  will be made with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 1/31

Monterey Jack Quesadilla
Lettuce, Tomato & Salsa Toppings
Black Bean Salad from the Salad Bar
Orange Wedges

They use Monterey Jack cheese (which is mild) and a white flour tortilla.  The salsa is organic.

The tortillas are from Tyson and contain:  Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: Cottonseed Oil, Soybean Oil), Mono- and Diglycerides, Contains 2% or less of the following: Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate), Fumaric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dough Conditioner (Wheat Flour, Calcium Sulfate, Sorbic Acid), Preservative (Sodium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate).  Sodium is 380mg. 5g of fat (1 of which is saturated). 

Fresh oranges and black bean salad.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 1/30

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Warm Apple Crisp

This is USDA commodity beef - but without fillers. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

Fresh toppings and apple crisp.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

Pretty close to fast food.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 1/27

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French Toast
Orange Rounds
Applegate Turkey Bacon
Cucumber Sticks
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Cinnamon Applesauce

Say "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist - basically white flour bread.  The syrup is basically HFCS.  They are looking for an affordable maple syrup but do not have one yet - but they will be limiting the serving size this year in the meantime.  Actual lunch from our schools above. This meal has a lot of sugar, simple carbohydrates -- no whole grains.

There are alternatives - check out this one, for example.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates otherwise - and cites the company saying their products have the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands. Read more about nitrates here.

On the upside, there are fresh orange slices and cucumber sticks plus applesauce with cinnamon.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 1/26

TACO BAR
Seasoned Beef w/ Hard or Soft Shell Corn Tortilla
or
Vegetarian Rice & Beans
Toppings for Both: Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream
Fresh Grapes

The beef used in these is USDA commodity ground chunk -- it is all beef which means it does not contain fillers but it not necessarily of any particular quality. We do season it in-house with salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne and black pepper.

The rice and beans version is a good choice - brown rice, canned black beans.

Check out our posts on reasons to eat less meat here and here.

The hard taco shells from Mission foodservice contain: whole grain corn, water, vegetable oil (one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil), contains 2% or less of niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin lime. No sodium - 6g of fat (2 of which are saturated)

The soft shells are from Tyson and contain:  Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: Cottonseed Oil, Soybean Oil), Mono- and Diglycerides, Contains 2% or less of the following: Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate), Fumaric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dough Conditioner (Wheat Flour, Calcium Sulfate, Sorbic Acid), Preservative (Sodium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate).  Sodium is 380mg. 5g of fat (1 of which is saturated).

What's for Lunch - Wed., 1/25

All White Meat Breaded Chicken Tenders
Roasted Sweet Potato Wedge
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pineapple in Juice




This lunch is close to fast food.

The chicken is a fried Tyson product with 580mg of sodium. Here are the ingredients: Chicken breast tenderloins, water, modified food starch, sodium phosphates, salt. PREDUSTED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), wheat gluten, salt. BATTERED WITH: Water, enriched bleached wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), modified corn starch, salt, dextrose, spices, garlic powder, xanthan gum, oleoresin paprika and annatto. BREADED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, spices, garlic powder, extractives of paprika, natural flavors (spice extractives). Breading set in vegetable oil.

The sweet potato wedges are from McCain. The ingredients are: Sweet Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following Oils: Canola, Soybean, Cottonseed, Sunflower, Corn), Corn Starch - Modified. Contains 2% or less of Annatto (color), Beta Carotene (color), Caramel Color, Corn Starch, Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Natural Flavor (Contains Wheat), Rice Flour, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate Added To Maintain Natural Color, Sugar, Tapioca Dextrin, Xanthan Gum.

The pineapple is canned.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 1/24

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Warm Apple Crisp

The noodles we're using for the Mac n cheese are Barilla Plus. The ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. The sauce is made from Wisconsin Cheddar.

Caesar salad is as pictured above with an organic dressing. The apple crisp is a dessert made in-house.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 1/23

Meatball Hero (Meatballs in Marinara) on Whole Wheat Hero Roll
Orzo Pasta w/Garlic & Oil
Carrot Sticks
Orange Rounds

The meatballs are are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  Tyson recently had another ground beef recall due to e. coli contamination although this one did not affect the school lunch market.

The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).

The rolls are whole grain.  I do not have any details on the orzo pasta. It is probably not whole grain and the roll is probably enough carbohydrates for most people.

The carrots and oranges are fresh.

Tell the FDA You Want Genetically Modified Foods to be Labeled

From the Environmental Working group:

Dear Sara,

Do you know what's in the food you eat? I'm sure that, like me, you spend time in the grocery store reading labels and trying to make the healthiest choices for your family. But not everything is on those labels. Right now, there's absolutely no requirement to label foods that have been genetically engineered.

I think that's unacceptable. And so do more than 90 percent of Americans. Nearly 43,000 supporters of Environmental Working Group, including EWG Action Fund board member Robyn O'Brien, have already asked the federal Food and Drug Administration to require labeling of genetically engineered ingredients in the food we eat.

Robyn has joined the Just Label It campaign and worked with Food, Inc. director Robby Kenner to create a video about why we have the right to know what is in the food we eat. Please watch the video and then add your voice - to change the status quo, the FDA needs to hear from you today.

We're so close to our goal of 65,000 signatures on this petition. Will you help us make that mark?

Click here to watch Robby Kenner's new video and join him in signing our petition to the FDA. Tell government regulators that we want to know if genetically modified ingredients are in our food!

Genetically engineered foods are appearing on supermarket shelves with increasing frequency. More than 80 percent of crops like corn and soy are genetically engineered. Some 60 to 70 percent of processed foods available in American grocery stores likely contain some genetically engineered ingredients. We eat these common foods almost every day, without being fully informed about their content.

We have a right to know how the food we are eating is being produced so that we can make the right choices for ourselves and our families. By not requiring labeling, the FDA deprives us of that choice.

As part of the Just Label It campaign, EWG is working hard to make sure you get the information you need to make healthier choices. But we need your help. The FDA needs to hear from you, today, that you want the facts about what you are eating. Please take a moment to sign our petition.

Click here to hear Robyn's story and sign our petition to the FDA today. Help us get to 65,000 signatures today.

Thank you for taking action. You have the right to know what's in your food. Together, we'll make sure that happens.

Sincerely,

Ken Cook
President, Environmental Working Group

What's for Lunch - Fri., 1/20

Homemade Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana
Whole Wheat Penne Marinara
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Pears in Fruit Juice

We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is probably the USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

The noodles are listed as whole wheat but they may be usign the Barilla Plus instead - which is not whole grain. If so , the ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.

Plus, canned pears and choose your own veggies.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 1/19

PITA PIZZA With Meatballs or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

The pita pizza does not indicate that it is whole wheat but I believe we have switched. But go with the plain  -- the meatballs are are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  Tyson recently had another ground beef recall due to e. coli contamination although this one did not affect the school lunch market.

The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

The smoothie  will be made with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

What's for Lunch - Wed.., 1/18

Whole Wheat Penne w/Tomato, Broccoli & Mozzarella
Toasted Garlic Bread
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit

Nice day for lunch. This is a whole grain pasta with vegetables and part skim mozzarella. We make the garlic bread. Plus fresh fruit and choice of salad bar sides.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 1/17

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese with Ham or Plain
Carrot Crunchers
Cinnamon Applesauce

The sandwich is made with Cabot cheddar on whole wheat bread.  The optional ham is Boar's Head brand.  We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for these. The ingredients are: STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, BROWN SUGAR, YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OIL OR CANOLA OIL), DOUGH, CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM, STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM IODATE, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, DATEM), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, VINEGAR, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM, PHOSPHATE, YEAST FOOD (AMMONIUM SULFATE), SOY LECITHIN.

Plus unsweetened applesauce to which we add cinnamon and fresh carrots.

Weekend Reading

Reading

The maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread files for bankruptcy. Read more.

The WSJ will give you low-down on all the fake sugars being rushed to market here.

Wired's Science blog reports on the FDA's recent action to curb the use of at least one class of antibiotics in farm animals.

Listening

NPR ran a piece on Monday on a study showing kids who eat school lunch are more likely to be obese. Listen to the show here.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 1/13

Freshly-Breaded Chicken Cutlet Strips
Brown Rice Pilaf
(Rice with Peppers & Onion)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices Dusted with Cinnamon

Our staff will bread the chicken with flour, egg and breadcrumbs and make rice pilaf. Plus fresh apples slices.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 1/12

Applegate Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Bun
Baked Shoestring “Fries”
Cole Slaw
Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie


The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms - so they are far better than many hot dogs but are hot dogs nonetheless. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates the nitrate issue is tricky - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.  You may also not want your kids growing up thinking hot dogs are a good lunch given the potential link between processed meats and cancer. The bun is whole wheat.

I have not seen the ingredients on the french fries.

We make the smoothie  with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 1/11

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Pears in Fruit Juice

The noodles we're using for the Mac n cheese are Barilla Plus. The ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. The sauce is made from Wisconsin Cheddar.

Pears are canned.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 1/10

BURRITO
Chicken Breast and Cheese
w/ Brown Rice & Zesty Black Beans

Vegetarian Taco available
Brown Rice & Zesty Beans

Salad Bar Veggie & Fruit Sides

I've had a bean and cheese burrito at our school before and thought it was really quite good.  So, you can get the vegetarian version or the chicken. Last time it looks like the chicken we used was a Tyson fully-cooked diced chicken meat product.

The beans are canned as is the pineapple. The cheese is Monterey Jack and the tortilla is white flour - not whole grain.

Plus choice of fruit and veggie sides.

Action Alert: Tell the FDA to Label Poultry Fairly

From the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

Some unscrupulous meat and poultry producers add as much as 15 percent saltwater to their products—and then have the gall to label such pumped-up products “natural.” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is calling for public comments regarding such labeling practices.

The “enhanced” poultry adds significant amounts of unneeded sodium to an otherwise healthy food, adding to Americans’ already excessive sodium consumption and gouging consumers with exorbitant prices for salt water. Consumers should not be misled by a false “natural” label claim and they have a right to label information that allows them to make informed, healthful decisions.
Please send a message to the USDA today, urging an end to this deceptive-labeling practice.

Sincerely,

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.

Founder and Executive Director

What's for Lunch - Mon., 1/9

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Warm Apple Crisp

This is USDA commodity beef - but without fillers. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

Fresh toppings and apple crisp.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

What's for Lunch - Fri. 1/6

Homemade Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana
Whole Wheat Penne Marinara
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices

We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is probably the USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. The noodles are whole wheat.

Plus, fresh apple slices and choose your own veggies.

What's for Lunch - Thurs. 1/5

WHOLE WHEAT PITA PIZZA
Plain Cheese or with Broccoli
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Orange Wedges

Exciting News1 The pita pizza is now whole grain! AND - the broccoli is fresh.

The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

Plus fresh orange slices and choose your own veggies from the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 1/4

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French Toast w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Turkey Bacon
Cucumber Sticks
Cinnamon Applesauce

Say "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist - basically white flour bread.  The syrup is basically HFCS.  They are looking for an affordable maple syrup but do not have one yet - but they will be limiting the serving size this year in the meantime.  Actual lunch from our schools above. This meal has a lot of sugar, simple carbohydrates -- no whole grains.

There are alternatives - check out this one, for example.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates otherwise - and cites the company saying their products have the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands. Read more about nitrates here.

On the upside, there are fresh cucumber slices and carrots plus applesauce with cinnamon.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 1/3

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to School

Lunch Menu:
All White Meat Breaded Chicken Chunks
Oil & Garlic Tossed Penne
Cucumber slices with Ranch dip
Chilled pineapple in juice


Note: There is no salad bar today or soup

These are fried, frozen Tyson "quality" chicken chunks.  Here are the ingredients for the chicken nuggets so you can decide for yourself:  Chicken, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.

For the penne, we use Barilla Plus. The ingredients are:  Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.

Cucumber slices are fresh with an organic Ranch dip from Chelten.  Pineapple is a canned commodity.